Collapsible side rail for bedsteads



June 24, 1930.

A. J. SCHULTZ COLLAPSIBL E SIDE RAIL FOR BEDS'IE ADS Filed Dec. 17, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Jun 24, 193 A. .1. SCHULTZ 1 ,455

COLLAPSIBLE SIDE RAIL FOR BEDSTEADS Filed Dec. 17, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 24, 1930.

A. J. SCHULTZ 1,765,455 COLLAPSIBLE SIDE RAIL FOR BEDSTEADS Filed Dec. 17, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I 4 l 50 I 31 L? I INVENTOR- AT'TORNEY Patented June 24, 1930 "AB AH Jf'sonrrmzf," or NEWARK, new innsny COLLAPSIBLE ISIDE RAIL non IBEDSIEAPS' ApplicationfiledDecember 17,1927. Serial K012493679. I

maxi-mum 'dimensionallirnits of bed ends, so'.

thattheside rails may be stored,packed, shipped and delivered with the particular bed endsfor which they aredesigned tobe used.

Metal bedsteads comprise, essentially, four distinct separable parts, namely-,- a foot end, a headend and two .siderails. .,The side rails in use mustnecessarily be somewhat longer than the height-of the average person, that is, they are usuallyin excess ofsix feet long,

In consequence of the lengthof theside rails,

when made of the usualsingleor integral body, it hasihitlierto been found impractical v to pack the same together with the bed ends, in'one bundle,crate, orpackagefor storage,

shipment or delivery, since, the extreme di-1 mensions of the 'bed nends is less than sixfeet.

' The customary practice, pursuedtogthe ,present time, has been to crate together and de-1 liver together the bed ends and to'separately ship, and deliver'th'e siderails in: one or. more separate packages, bundles according'to their number,- withg 'consequentjgrisk of] loss, mismatinggetc. ;The problem presented is to" 7 provide a form-and construction of sidera-ih which maybe convenientlylpacked in pairs with the particularirbed aends which they are to serve, thereby eleminatings-risk of loss, 1 mismatin'g andvarious' other inconveniences which follows separate handling of bed--- steadside rails; 'Hitherto this problem has I not been solved, despite the fact 'that1the' metal bedstead industry has been confronted by the same for upwards of twenty-live" pered the fullest development of the metal -bedstead industryyand in ordertofunderstand'the extent towhich such failure has been an obstacle to such development,"the fol;

lowing facts inust'be considered. r I In the firstplace they-dealer in metal bedsteads who carriesthe'makes of several diff of bedfends suitablytcrated for eventual delivery to his customers, but also finds himself in' possession of an assortment. of separate siderails of various types andldesigns, which cannot be promiscuously selected and used, but which must, on, alsale of abedstead, be carefully selected to, mate with the latter. The dealer therefore must be" particularly careful;when delivering a bedstead. to his customer, that proper-side rails are selected forshipment; Even when reasonablecare is exercised errors are constantly being: made and mismating siderails are" frequently de; livered, and-furthermore, side rails sep arately shipped becomelost anclare not final- 7 1y delivered to the customer until after con-lv siderable trouble and delay. Owing to these" V difiiculties dealersare'discouraged from :pur-: chasing from various manufacturers," and usuallyconfine'thei-r line to one or two of the latter, thus, losing the advantages of competitive conditionsin purchasing stock, whileon the other hand-the manufacturer is discour aged from using improved types of rails and coupling connections for assembling the gsa'me in the :bedsteadwhich might otherwisebe profiatablyadoptedr l x If bed ends andproperlyimating side'rails could be conveniently-handled together at 'all times for: storing, shipment, packing andide' livery,q.theproblems and" difficulties above adverted to wouldbe solved and'overcomez l 'o this end, therefore, it is the: obj ect of -this invention, t*broadly, ito (provide gazcollapsible form 'of side rail whichlcan zbexpackedorj crated together 'withfbed ends so as to for-mfl oneunit 'bundle'l'whichlneed not'be opened from the time it leaves the factory until delivery to the ult'iniatecu'stomerf More specifi 1 cally, the invention hasiforia' further object O toprovideja' preferred form and construction "of. collapsible side rail for bedsteads as" hereinafter; described; and I which is adapted V to furnish when opened up and oonnected betweengthe' bed ends, a' strong, durable and rigidconstruction'c'ap ablejof supporting'the f weight'of?sp rings, mattress and occupantsas r V effici'entlyand'safely as wouldthesingle'orin-" '7 tegral non collapsible rail heretofore'in "use '7 V The present invention .in one preferredd form is illustrated in the drawings, in which Figure 1 shows a view in face elevation accompanying of bed ends and collapsible side rails therefor assembled together for packing in a single bundle.

Figure 2 is an inside side elevation of a preformed form of collapsible side rail inextended condition for operative engagement between bed ends; Figure 3 is anwoutside side elevation of thesame; Figure tis .a top 7 plan View of the same, and Figure 5 is a bottom plan View of thessanae; H

Figures 6 and 8 are fragmentary inside side elevations and'part sectional views show mentaryhorizontal sectionshowing the abutting; ends ofthe sections in normal aligned condition, and: Figure 1 5is a similar} View 7 showing thelateral'displaceinentof one sec- 7 tion relative to the other preparatoryto -col'-- lapsing of the same; Figure 16i s an inside side elevation and partsectionshowing the operation of collapsing the rail sections; Figure; 17'isa similar view with the sections folded together in "collapsed condition; and" Figure 18' is a transverse verticalsection, taken on l1ne 18 '1'8i1n Figure 1' 7.

7 Similar characters of reference are employed in all of the hereinabovede scribed views, to indicate corresponding- 'parts;

Referrmg tohthe drawings, the reference character 20 indicates one 'railsection and-'7 '21 the other; rail. section, which :are' interconnectedtogether so that the same maybe 7 H 1 meansizwath which the bedilends are-provided,

all in; the-mannen familian to those skilled in the art; E ach rail 7 section i-spreferabl-y made;- i

" of: angledron to; comprise a horizontal flange 5 and? a vertiealifiange, and wheni saidisectionsv s extended and interlocked together to provide a; jbedsteadfside railof' proper; length; for

operative extensionand interconnection be-' tween-La head end 22-andl a1 foot end 2310f;

abbed stead, or so: that-the, same may be. col lapsed into; a; desired vforeshortened condition convenient for packing" with the :bed ends in a manner similar tog-that "shownin- Figure -10r,fin any otherconvenient or desirable J 1nanner= Theouter ends of thefres pectiver rail SQGiilQHSr2O andi21 may b'eQprovided with suitablecorner-lock;- elements 24:1adapted to be, enga ediyw it-hr cooperating corner-lock are in normal extended and longitudinally aligned condition their inner ends are disposed in mutually abutting relation; Ar-Y ranged within the angle of the abutting ends of each said sections 20 and 21 is a coupling member or center lock means in the form of an angle member,con1prising a vertical portion 25 disposed across the joint between the sections so as to overlie the inner faces of the. vertical flanges of said sections, and a horizontal portion 26-also disposed across the joint between said sections so as to lie against the undersideof the horizontal flanges of the latter. At least one end of the vertical portion 25 possessesa rounded ear 26 to allow the ad acent litll section to swinger turn around the same when released for move ment to collapsedrelat'ion to thefopposite rail section. Saidvertical portion 25 iss secured at one end to the rail section '20 by a suitable fastening means,gsuch' as 'abolt'27 and nut 28 over which'the free end of the :bolt shank is riveted, as cat 29 or by 'meansof a rivet,

or by welding, since the connection maybe ofiiXedcharacter for the reason that no relative movement between the coupling member .or center-lock means 'and one of the 'railsections is required. The opposite end of "said. vertical portion 2 5 is movablysecuredto the rail section 21-by means of a. bolt 30 andflnut 31, the latter being adjustable on the formea;

Preferably the free end 0f" the;shank of said bolt-:30 is crushed; over as at, 32,, tOQprQvide" I a's'top against 3I'therefrorn-J v fi'angesof the railsecti'ons '20 and 211' are? respectively provided with angular notches; 7'

33 and 34,'which are normally opposed'to each other so as to form a rectangular reefgentire separation ofthe nut: f

The abutting ends of Q the horizontal ceiving socket to match and registerfw-ithfa 9 similar rectangular;receiving socket 35''provided in the und'erlying horizontalflange-26 ofthe cou-pling member or center lock means. The reference character 36 indicates thelii'e'adot a keeper-bolt, having ar'ectangular shoulf- T der 37 beneath'the headjto extend-into said" 7 receiving sockets abovedescribedjand hav-f s ing 'a threaded shank 38 e'xtendingfd'ewm I 11 5 Wardly from said-shoulder portion. Movably engaged on said shank 38i jis a fastenmgfnut Preferably-the free end of 'sajidshanli il is crushed over,- as atftO',--t0-provide-instep .f againstentl're se arationofthenut-3rthere; r V

When the rail sectionsare openeglgout op'erat ve' extended relationfor interconnectionb'etween "the head and foota'ends; of the bedstead, the adj oining; ends as the'railisec 7 abutting relation and the keeper bolt is ticns 20 and 2lare rought into aligned thrust downwardly" to i enter the rectangular V shouJYd'er3 ZI1n the receiving socket provided 7 by-Jthe opposed notches 83 34 01f therasection ends and by the opening" 35 f v; if i lock means.

horizontal flange of the coupling member or center lock means, the head of the keeper bolt abutting the upper faces of the hori zontal flanges of said rail sections. When the keeper bolt is thus vdisposed the fastening nut 39 is turned home on the shank 38 to abut the underside ofthe horizontal flange of said coupling member or center The nut 31 of the transverse bolt is turned home to securely draw together and retain the verticalflangeof said rail section 21 against the vertical flangeof the rail sections are securelyaligned together and so retained that neither displacement in vertical or horizontal planes is possible. The strength of the connection thus formed is such that when therail sections are operatively engaged between the headand foot ends of the bedstead a strong and rigid arrangement is provided which is adequately capable of supporting the weightofsprings, mattress and occupants of'the bed as efli ciently and safely as would a'singl'e or integral non-collapsible rail heretofore in use.

WVhen the side rails are disconnected from the bed ends the same may be collapsed so as to reduce the length thereof to adimen- 'sion within a maximum dimensionallimits of the bed ends, to thereby permit of the is assembling of the bed ends and side rails in a single package for storage and shipping. To socollapse therail sections, in the form thereof illustrated in the'drawings, the operator loosens the nut 39 of the'keeper boltand also loosens the nut 31 of the transverse I bolt 30. When the bolts are thusloosened, as shownin Figures 6 and 7 the keeper'bolt is lifted'to remove'the rectangular shoulder 37 from the receiving sockets, and the trans verse bolt 30 is thrust outward to space its head away from .the exterior side ofthe rear section 21 this arrangement being shown infFig'ures 8 and 9; The operator may now move the rail section 21 sldewlse relative to the side rail 20 so that'theabutting vertical ends of the respective rail sections are dis posed out of alignment. This movement, is also permitted by reasonof the play between the notchesand the keeper bolt shank' 38 as shown in Figure'12. :The relative sideiwise displays of the rear section 21 with respect to the rail section 20 isflillustrated in Figures 13 and 15', and permits the turning of the rail section21faboutthe axes'of the bolt30, in the manner shown in Figure 16 so that said-rail section: 21'may" be. folded back upon and beneath the rail section 20 as" ing of'the'keeper boltremoves thehead from the path of movement of the horizontal flange portion of the rail section 21 as, is also indicated inFigure 16'; It will thus be apparent that by comparatively simple 'illustrated-inFiguresland 17. The rais manipulationsthe rail's'ections may be collapsed and thus reduced in length with theconsequent advantages already above referred' to.

"It will be obvious that, so far as the broad aspects oft-he present inventioniis concerned, many variations may be possible in the construction-and character of the means per mitting the collapsing of the rail; sections 20 and'21 relativelyito each other, and. con-.

sequently I; desire to .be understood as not limitingemyselfiso farm the lbroadgaspects of the invention are concerned, to the par-7 ticular type of coupling means forthe rail:

sections which is shown in the drawings. and which has been hereinabove described in de-j tall. Specifically, l1owever,lv deemathe il lus-tratedand described construction, of col--: laps1blera1l section to. provide a fve'ryjsatis: factory form of side rail collapsing means and have, therefore, also made comparative: ly specific claims, with respect thereto: Having thus' described my invention 1 111A side rail for separable?attachmentibel; tween the head and foot :endsof-a bedstead,

said; side railQcomprisingQ a pair of angleiron sections adapted to be normally disposed V in abutting end to end longitudinally extended relation, an angle-iron coupling means extending across the meeting endsof said sections andwithin the angle thereof,

lateral fastening devices joining the vertical flanges of said respective sections to the verticalflange ofsaid coupling means, vertical fastening meanscooperating with the horizontal flanges of said sections and the horione of said lateral fastening devices and said vertical fastening means being releasable to permit relative displacement of said sections from normal aligned relation whereby the {latter maybe moved to a collapsed condi- 1011.

angle-ironr sections adapted to be normally dlsposed in abutting, end toendlongitudipling means extending across the meeting ends of said sections and within the angle thereof, a, transverse fasteningmeans joining the vertical flange of each section to the vertical flange of said coupling means,gthe

abutting end margins of the horizontal 2.: A siderail for separable attachment" between .the head Jandfoot ends. of a bed-, :stead, saidside rail comprising-a pair of 'zontal flange of said coupling means, at least I flanges of said sections having notches there in tonormally Oppose each'other to for'ma r p I I receiving socket, a corresponding vertically.

l zo if, nally extended relation, an angle-iron coui aligned receiving socket in the horizontal flange of saidcoupling means, and fastening bolt and nut common to saidsectionseX- tending through said receiving sockets,

,l 3. A side rail for separable attachment between the head and foot ends of a bedstead, said side rail comprising a pair of angle-iron sections adapted to be normally disposed in abutting end to end longitudinally extended relation, an angle-iron coupling meansextending across the meeting ends of said sections and Within the angle thereof, a transverse fasteningmeans joining the vertical flange of each section to the vertical flange 0f said. couplingmeans, the abutting end margins of the horizontal flanges of saidsections having notches thereinto normally oppose each other to form a receiving socket, a corresponding vertically aligned receiv- 0 ing socket-in thev horizontal flange of said coupling'means,fastening bolt and nut common to said sections extending through said receiving sockets, at least one of'said'transverse fastening means being releasable'and 'said fastening bolt and nut being likewise releasable to permit relative lateral displace ment of said sections from normalaligned relation whereby one of the latter may be turned anddoubled back upon the other.

In testimony that I claim the invention set forth aboveI have hereuntoset my'hand this 12th d'ay'of'December,1927 c i 'ABRAHAM J. SCHULTZ. 

